News

Book helps to deal with trauma

A book to help very young children cope with the trauma of domestic violence is about to go global.

Written by Wiltshire trauma parenting specialist Jane Evans, How Are You Feeling Today Baby Bear? is to be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers next month. It will then be available across the UK and in the USA.

Its aim is to help parents and professionals deal with the issue of domestic violence if very young, pre-school children have seen or heard such violence taking place.

It’s estimated around 750,000 children each year witness violence in the home.

Many of those children can go on to have behavioural difficulties.

Jane, who lives in Sutton Benger, near Chippenham, has written the book after spending 20 years working with children and helping families deal with trauma.

She has a grown-up son and was herself a victim of domestic abuse when her son was young.

She believes the simple story is just one way to help those traumatised by violence in the home.

She said: “At the back of the book is an easy-to-use, page-by-page guide about how to read this book with your child. Many parents who have experienced abuse get frozen when dealing with the issue with very young children. But children listen and those memories are there.

“You are doing more harm by not addressing it rather than by trying to talk about it and getting it a bit wrong.

“Children may get upset, and that’s okay, just stop for a while. Or use it with a teddy bear so that the questions can be asked of the bear alongside the child.”

The book can be pre-ordered by visiting www.parentingposttrauma.co.uk/my-book.html